Video production is my art, but editing course media is my industry. The vast majority of the work I do is related to online education companies creating digital content for their students. About 80% of my work is related to videos, transcripts, and emails related to some sort of online education, and I find this work very valuable because it gives me a foundation to be very deliberate when it comes to my real passion: video production and design. I rarely have to worry about my bread and butter coming in from the more artistic projects, so I am freed up to take my time, think them through, and do them right.
One of my first online education clients was a group called Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness, an online education company that provides content for psychologists, psychiatrists, mindfulness practitioners, and anyone who is going to be using mindfulness as a tool by helping them to make it “trauma-sensitive”.
A year and a half ago they contacted me to edit their TSM 101 class that was going to be premiering late in 2019. That project came and went, and all parties involved had a great experience! So much so that, early 2020, the guys at TSM again approached me to edit their upcoming 201 course in a similar manner.
Project Scope
Similar to their 101 course, the project involved three types of video deliverables.
- Classroom Videos
- Guest Faculty Sessions
- Live Sessions
The first two were pre-recorded sessions that would be delivered to students on a certain day of the week every other week. The third type was live sessions that needed to be turned around within half of a day after the live Zoom session had concluded. All of the edits involved cutting down the raw footage based on edit notes, adding intro and outro slides, and music, and sweetening the audio. The classroom sessions also involved adding slides to the videos, and the faculty sessions involved multi-camera editing in Premiere Pro.
Problem 1 – Quick Turnaround
Though the turnaround was slightly more loose than the 101 course, the TSM guys still wanted the videos turned over within half a day. We’d had some issues getting this at the beginning of the 101 course, and we wanted to make sure that we delivered what we promised for 201.
Solution 1 – New Computer
Between the time the 101 courses ended and the 201 courses started, I purchased a new laptop for the business. The laptop had extra RAM, a faster CPU, and a dual GPU system for better and quicker video editing and exporting. This new addition to my equipment made turning these courses over in-time smooth as a fluid-head-tripod. I was able to decrease the turnaround time from the 101 course and deliver the live videos well before the deadline.
Project Results
The Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness 201 course went off without a hitch. There were few major problems and only a few minor hiccups with exports here and there that cause an hour or two delays. Nothing major. They were all delivered in-time and with as good a quality as was requested and needed for the online course.
Here is the link to the Advanced Mindfulness Course Page.
The guys at TSM are some of the most-organized clients that I work with. Their ability to keep me as a contractor in the know and making sure they have all their assets together is downright refreshing. They’re also extremely professional, eager to be of assistance whenever they can, and very thankful for my services. I love working with them, and so far this combination of a great client and – I think – a somewhat tolerable contractor has resulted in two highly successful online course turnovers.